This year’s SAP for Energy and Utilities Conference, held in Toulouse, France, marked a notable first: the inaugural presentation of the Energy and Utilities Innovation Award. Companies whose projects stood out were honored in the categories AI, Innovation, Transformation, Customer Experience, and Best Team.
AI as a key element
In the AI category, the Austrian energy company OMV prevailed with its SAP Business AI transformation project. Building on an existing SAP S/4HANA landscape, the transformation focused on intelligent automation, advanced analytics, and AI-driven decision-making in core business processes. A key factor for success was a step-by-step approach: instead of a hasty implementation, OMV first laid a solid foundation and introduced AI in a targeted manner into the user experience and business processes. The focus was on regulation, security, and continuous evaluation. The clear principle was to standardize, integrate, and establish a stable data foundation before it scaled more broadly. Early in the process, the company relied on Joule in SAP SuccessFactors solutions and SAP S/4HANA. In the next step, the transformation will continue so OMV can make even greater use of AI.
Deliver cleaner, more reliable power and unlock new growth opportunities during this unprecedented green energy transition
Intelligent water supply
With a data-driven platform for monitoring its water network, the Belgian water utility Farys was recognized by the jury in the Innovation category. With the help of SAP technology and AI, the utility can now deploy resources more efficiently and optimize its processes in a targeted way. Water leaks can be detected early before greater damage occurs, water quality issues can be predicted, and energy consumption can be reduced. The result: less downtime, lower repair costs, and a noticeably better quality of service. Having a unified solution also fosters cross-departmental collaboration by breaking down existing data silos. In the future, risk assessments for pipelines and facilities will be integrated, and data-driven decisions will help determine where repairs will have the greatest impact. With this strategy, Farys is preparing its infrastructure for the demands of climate change.
Achieving goals through teamwork
E.ON UK won the Best Team category with its SAP S/4HANA transformation project. With its group-wide project running from 2021 to 2027, the company aims to standardize processes and build a future-proof, scalable IT landscape. The central challenge was to consolidate various legacy systems in a highly regulated market. What sets this project apart is the close collaboration between the company, IT, and external partners. The company used workshops, road shows, and a targeted key user network to focus on team culture and cohesion from the very beginning. The result is not only a successful technical transformation, but above all a lived team culture—a key factor to the project’s success.
A new data foundation
In the Transformation category, Electrica Furnizare came out on top. The starting point was a fragmented system in which data was scattered and an overarching overview was missing. The company’s existing infrastructure was neither scalable nor able to respond flexibly to growing regulatory and customer requirements. With the introduction of SAP S/4HANA combined with SAP Business Technology Platform (SAP BTP), SAP Customer Experience solutions, and SAP Business AI, Electrica Furnizare achieved one of the largest transformations in the utility sector. The result: a single, reliable data source for all departments, end-to-end optimized processes, and a solid foundation that paves the way for future innovations and the full deployment of AI capabilities.
Better customer service through comprehensive modernization
Loudoun Water’s far-reaching modernization project won the Customer Experience category, with the company using SAP S/4HANA, SAP Service Cloud 2.0, and SAP SuccessFactors solutions to optimize its processes. With the introduction of SAP Service Cloud 2.0, Loudoun Water is the first utility company worldwide to take this step. The effort paid off: customer service is faster and more modern, work orders are better organized, billing and payments are managed more efficiently, and time tracking for employees has been simplified. The migration was carried out in a single, coordinated step, creating a future-proof, scalable foundation on which Loudoun Water can further expand its position as a technology leader in the industry.
Innovation as a driver of the energy transition
The winners of the first Energy and Utilities Innovation Award demonstrate the wide range of possibilities through which companies in the energy and utilities sector are actively shaping digital transformation. Whether AI-driven decision-making processes, intelligent infrastructure monitoring, or a consistent realignment of the IT landscape, all the projects have one thing in common: they rely on solid foundations, step-by-step implementation, and close collaboration among all stakeholders. Melanie Fiolka, go-to-market & community engagement lead for Utilities at SAP, summarizes it as follows: “The energy and utilities industry is undergoing profound change. The winners of the first Energy and Utilities Innovation Award demonstrate how vision is turned into tangible value through clear strategies, solid data foundations, and the adoption of AI.”
The award makes it clear that innovation in the industry is no longer the exception, but has become a strategic necessity.
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